MSAUD Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation

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Resourceful Cities – Group 09

There are many educational and career oriented resources that currently exist within the Hudson Valley region that are not being utilized to their full potential. In the case of Newburgh; this is largely due to a disconnection between the type of resources available and the residents they are meant to be serving. The existing workforce is generally less equipped to take advantage of higher paying opportunities while a trend of younger, educated professionals are leaving the area to look for job opportunities elsewhere. The Platform aims to establish a neighborhood of resources that through a unique form of mentorship and exposure to existing resources, will provide residents with opportunities for education, upward mobility and entrepreneurship.

Housed mainly in underutilized and vacant property around Newburgh, these Live to Mentor Homes, Co-Working, and Flex Spaces would be sponsored by various industries and organizations that are already prominent within the area, such as IBM, St. Mary’s Hospital, Habitat for Humanity, Boys and Girls club as well as other non for profits. Mentors, which include current college students, recent graduates and residents of Newburgh, would provide daily workshops, presentations and vocational training in fields such as health, business and technology. The expectation is that this campus like setting would produce a concentration of activity that would help to facilitate new forms of positive community interaction and help to retain and attract people to Newburgh, eventually establishing it as a primary point within a larger network of resources throughout the Hudson Valley.